EU Consultation on Post-i2010 - Please Do It

Stupidly, I thought this EU consultation would be the usual clueless nonsense, unredeemable even by witty comments from people like me. I was wrong. It's actually an incredibly wide-ranging questionnaire about very important topics. Indeed, it's not even obvious to me what my "correct" answers should be - it actually makes you think.

Here's a small sample of the deep questions it wants us to consider:

The future of the sustained internet services growth - internet to drive innovation

Challenges and issues here include:

- Design and development of the future internet - semantic web, Internet of Things, scalability, mobility, security etc.

- Keeping the internet open to competition, innovation and user choice - issues here include: interoperability, keeping the internet and internet-based services open and a level playing field for innovation (end-to-end connectivity, service level agreements, cross-platform services, net neutrality and open business models), open standards, low barriers to entry, etc.

...

Promoting access to creativity at all levels

In terms of expectations, Internet users' and the creative content providing sector have never been as at odds as they are today. Creative industry players are struggling to find new viable business models that are able to ensure sufficient revenues for creators and to meet consumer expectations. The market for digital content is still fragmented and broadcasters and other content providers, together with end-users are prevented from benefiting from a true digital Single Market.

Participative platforms have grown as passive users (readers, viewers, consumers etc.) have become active producers (or "prosumers"). These users tend to ignore their statutory rights and their obligations towards rights holders for the content they transform or/and simply share in web 2.0 communities. Moreover, intermediaries generally impose take-it- or-leave-it complex standard terms of use to their users. Against this background, users currently do not enjoy a clear set of rights balancing the conditions set by rights holders (with DRMs [Digital Rights Management] and/or license agreements) and internet services or platforms imposing restrictive standard terms of use.

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Openness as a global issue

The challenge is to keep the internet open, based on open platforms and open standards. Many issues can only be resolved through international cooperation. The ICT strategies in the EU have often been inward-looking, which is difficult to justify, given the globalisation of modern ICT and the internet.

...

Challenges of participatory web

The growth of the participatory web is adding new challenges and pressures on public administrations, as well as opportunities. Web 2.0 enables citizens to shift their relationship with government. There is increasing demand on administrations to become ever more transparent and open to citizen involvement both in the delivery of services and in the design of public policies. If managed correctly, these demands may lead to delivery of better, more personalised services at lower cost as well as more trust in the public administration. This also applies to key services such as health care and education, where practitioners and beneficiaries of the service alike can benefit from mutually enriching communities of interest.

This is all really important stuff; so if you are an EU citizen, please take part - you have until this Friday, 9 October. The good news is that you don't need to fill in the whole thing - you can just pick and choose the bits that matter to you. Usefully, you can download the questionnaire in a variety of languages before you fill it in online - I highly recommend doing so.

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